William Charles John Pitcher

William John Charles Pitcher (21 March 1858 – 2 March 1925), known as Wilhelm or C. Wilhelm, was an English artist, costume and scenery designer, best known for his designs for ballets, pantomimes, comic operas, and Edwardian musical comedies.

Life and career

Wilhelm was born at Northfleet, in Kent, England, the son of a shipbuilder.

The young artist showed early promise, and J. R. Planché recommended him to design for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. There, Wilhelm created costumes, beginning in 1877, for numerous works, including the famous pantomimes of Sir Augustus Harris and for others until 1897, including the spectacular drama, Armada (1888). He also designed costumes for various music hall artists and for many London theatres, including Her Majesty's Theatre, The Coliseum, The Crystal Palace, and for three pantomimes at the Lyceum Theatre. For Robert Courtneidge in Manchester, England, Wilhelm designed two Shakespeare plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. Wilhelm also designed costumes for numerous pantomimes, including Cinderella, Dick Whittington, and Blue Beard. He was the designer for some of the costumes in several of the original Gilbert and Sullivan operas at the Savoy Theatre in the 1880s, including Iolanthe, Princess Ida, The Sorcerer (revival), The Mikado, and Ruddigore. He also designed costumes for Jane Annie at the Savoy (1893) and for the Olympia, London spectacles Nero (1889) and Venice (1891).